Thaw.

Posted on 31st Mar 2013 by essiep

-2° to +7°C, E wind, clear.

Lancashire: with MapMyRide! Distance: 57.2mi, speed: 14.8mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=5025384110261010433
Well, that was much easier. In comparison to the ride on Friday; faster, further and easier. All that on the fixed too. Traffic was light, either because it was Easter Sunday or fewer tourists in cold weather.
Bannister Hill has turned into a standard to measure myself with. I got up the climb with a slight, chilly head-wind. A descending cyclist shouted “nearly there!” while I was pulling the last steep bit.. That actually doeshelp on the last 100 yards. You know, the bit where your legs are burning along with the back of your arms and traps.

Derby lane snowdrifts.

Posted on 29th Mar 2013 by essiep

4C,cold light snow showers.
Rode in Leicestershire with MapMyRide! Distance: 51.22mi, time: 03:44:45, http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=9110435700007763969
Dry but Derby lane was impassable because of snow drifts. Other cyclists warned me about the route, but the northern end of the road was clear. So, I turned in. Snow has drifted where there were no fences and wind had blown straight off the fields. I walked the bike over the crunchy snow/ice; bemused.

That dreadful easterly wind has eased too. Shame I didn’t get photo, but it was too cold to stop.
A great way to start the Easter holiday. 51 miles has left me all warm, right through a night that reached -4C.
All is well. Today, I will take the winter bike in for a service so will ride the fixed for the next week.

Spring is waiting.

Posted on 25th Mar 2013 by essiep

3° +3°C, brisk, cold easterly. fizzy legs: missed my big week’s ride, no turbo time either. But at least the bulk of that marking mountain is demolished.

Bannister hill

Posted on 17th Mar 2013 by essiep

6°C, some rain.

Busied today doing work things. I have a secret glider in the attic for the escape.
Rode with MapMyRide! Distance: 28.89mi, time: 01:44′ speed: 16.64mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=7630849290788667393
There is a gap in that route, probably the GPS signal was lost in the rain. I did get up Bannister hill in good time though. Next time I could ride up the big climb twice.

note for next weekend: replace the chain, it’s way over the limit. Fixed gear bikes certainly eat chains. Take wheel bearing tools too.

Baltic.

Posted on 10th Mar 2013 by essiep

+1°C, felt much colder.

I rode in bracing driving snow with MapMyRide! Distance: 30.9mi, time: 02:20:03 http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=782386567082672129

Due to family commitments, I had to go home after only two hours. Shame that because I could have managed a much more.
There won’t be 1,000 miles on the block before Easter at this rate.

Oh snow.

Posted on 10th Mar 2013 by essiep

2C, light snow, heavy north-easterly,
A thread of snowy weather hangs over us. We have been warned of severe wind-chill, but its slippery surfaces that worry me. Why? Because I have the fizzy legs.

There are persistent thoughts of mountains creeping into my mind. A longing, but wait until Easter my boy.

The ride of spring.

Posted on 3rd Mar 2013 by essiep

7°C, SE light. Sun at first. I rode with MapMyRide! Distance: 39.17mi, time: 02:48
http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=6040392368157360129 Not the most energetic ride this year. Energy ran out after half-way. By then, the sun had gone and remaining miles dragged slower and slower.

Friday is a good day to…

Posted on 22nd Feb 2013 by essiep

-1~+2, NE wind, light, dry. …to ride. I rode fixed 42×17 with MapMyRide! Distance: 56.90mi, time: 04:10
http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=3819258234418495489
The big problem today was to keep warm. The penetrating icy wind occasionally blew light snow flurries from the east. At half-way, I pulled into a cafe that is part of a garden centre. It wasn’t all that warm in there either. But they did a decent onion soup and tea came in a pot with a knitted Cosey. Then I noticed an excellent space-heater. This roaring great machine blew hot air that could be directed inside your jacket. I stood there for a while, turning slowly as if on a spit to dry out my damp clothes. Damp layers are a quick way to cool very quickly, not what I wanted at all. Further, pulling layers up to let the warm air into base layers, I felt prepared to resume the ride.
This ride included Bannister Hill which is a beast. It’s always satisfying to reach the top without a stop on the fixed gear. Today, I failed near the top where it starts to level out. Shame, but not really uprising considering how I felt on the approach. Two weeks ago the climb was okay even though I was still recovering from the winter’s cold. Perhaps today’s cold air was the cause.

Bosworth

Posted on 17th Feb 2013 by essiep

9°C, light SE, Clear. CA:60 miles.

Tracked today’s with MapMyRide! Distance: 60.31mi, time: 04h 49m,
So many smiling faces today. The sun, clear skies and lack of cold air has affected us all. Some of the old guys can be really quite grumpy, but even they were cheerful today. No doubt I was smiling too. It wasn’t until after 40 odd miles that I could feel that a long ride is possible. Average speed was no big deal but stamina roused more as the miles passed.
Some roads were still flooded from last week’s rain though; at least four flooded the whole road width, that I remember. The technique that works best there is to ride through the water with the cranks level. Then ratchet the pedals to get through the water without immersing shoes. The only caution is hidden potholes and stones. Even on a day like this another twenty miles with wet feet could be pretty miserable.

Two buzzards picking at a swan’s corpse.

Posted on 16th Feb 2013 by essiep

8°C, sunny, still, CA:30

Tracked ride with MapMyRide! Distance: 29.80mi, time: 01:54:51, pace: 3:51min/mi, speed: 15.57mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=544671779495346177
Passed a strange sight- two buzzards feeding on a dead swan near Elford. It was like a Breugal painting, one of those with a haunting, ominous medieval moral.
The ride was good, as has this whole day been altogether.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Category Archives: Travel